Rosie.
The girl I’d thrown off me and dismissed only nights before, in favor of Ayda.
What the fuck were those two doing talking to one another on street corners?
The sound of a car horn beeping from behind had me facing forwards again, my frown growing deeper before I twisted the throttle and tore down the street. It wasn’t the fact that they were together that caused that unsettling niggling to start to chip away at me. It was the look of shame Rosie let slip and the way her body had turned to hide itself from me, like I could see right through whatever shield she was trying to put up.
When I pulled up outside the football field, I could see Deeks and Kenny’s van in place, and it wasn’t long before the noise of the others arriving filled the air in the distance. Pulling my helmet off and smiling to no one but myself, I hooked it on the back of the bike, adjusted the leather on my shoulders and started to glide on into the high school stadium. I could feel the stares of the townsfolk as I made my way to where she usually sat, and it was concentrating on both finding Ayda and keeping a lower profile than I normally would, that made me miss the most obvious thing waiting for me at the top of the stairs to the seats. When I finally looked up through wide eyes, I paused in my footing and let my mouth fall open as Howard Sutton stared down on me, his arms folded across his chest like he was ten-feet tall and a hundred pounds heavier than he actually was.
“I had a feeling you might show up here again tonight,DreeewTucker.”
I had no idea when my name had acquired all those extra vowels, and the way he said it caused me to run my thumb under my nose and look over my shoulder, just so I had a minute to get myself together instead of laughing.
Turning back to face him, I cleared my throat, tugged up on the back of my jeans and gave him a nod. “Sutton.”
“That’s Chief of Police Sutton to all the convicts around here,” he said slowly.
“Okay… Chief,” I pushed out.
“Why are you here, Tucker?”
“To watch a game of football.”
“And since when did you take such a great interest in high school football?”
“Since I got out from spending five years behind bars and promised everyone on the release panel that I would find myself a new hobby. One that didn’t involve me fighting underground or being responsible for any more deaths.”
A few patrons approached Sutton from behind, walking straight on by, but not before they cast the two of us a nervous glance on their way. As I watched them, Howard took a slow step forward, raising his chin when he spoke.
“Let me make one thing clear. I don’t like you. I don’t trust you. I don’t want you in my town. I don’t want you near the people I know. And I don’t like you around the Hanagans.”
The mention of Ayda in any capacity had my mouth clamping shut and the muscles along my jaw twitching as I tried to remain in control. I didn’t need to say anything back to him. The look I was giving him from every dark corner of my eyes should have told him enough. He’d gotten away with patronizing me twice. That was the last time.
Lifting my hand to his shoulder, I slapped down on it once, my gaze dropping down as his arms came undone and he reached for his gun. There were so many things I could have done to scare him, so many threats I could have made, but just the thought of Ayda had the muscles in my neck relaxing and a small smile tugging on my tense lips before I moved to his side and whispered. “Relax, Chief. I’m not looking for a Christmas card this year. Consider me warned.”
Huffing out a laugh, I side-stepped around him and began to walk away. I was pretty sure that his mumbles of threats and destruction were aimed at me, but as I shoved my hands in my pockets and made my way to the aisle she always sat on, I couldn’t find it in me to give a shit about any of it.
Especially not when I finally raised my chin to find her, only for those flashes of blue to find me first, and all the smiles I’d smiled that day came together to create something even bigger and brighter. All of which was aimed directly at her and yet another unexpected moment between the two of us.
I was fucking done for.
Chapter Forty-Five
Ayda
“You’re like a love-struck teenager,” Tate said, collapsing on the couch next to me and dumping his sports bag on the floor between us. The thing stank to high heaven, and he knew it, too. He was just doing this on purpose to get a reaction.
“Tate Michael Hanagan, you get that bag out of my living room and wash that shit before it stinks the place up.” I was purposely ignoring thelovepart of thelove-struck teenager comment. I honestly couldn’t put words to how I felt for Drew, but that word felt too soon, as though it would somehow start the dissolution of the relationship the moment I so much as thought it.
“But you’re gonna choose a movie without me and then I’ll be stuck watching some chick flick.”
“Better hurry then,” I teased, grinning as he groaned and got up off the couch. Flicking my leg out, I pushed at the back of his knee with my toes, watching his big body dip as I put on my best whiney voice. “Make some popcorn while you’re up and I’ll wait for you.”
He swiped at my leg, but I was gone by the time he managed to get there. “You ate like a pig at the game and you’re still hungry?”
“Making up for lost time, kiddo. Popcorn please, the extra butter kind, or you miss out on the pick of the movie.”
Tate wandered off, shaking his head in humor or disgust. I wasn’t sure which, but I didn’t care. I was spending time with him, and I was happy rather than getting on his ass constantly. I honestly hadn’t expected to see Drew at the game for a third Friday in a row—this time with the rest of his boys in tow—but it was a pleasant surprise. It was the only three consecutive home games we’d had in years, and that was only because one of the other districts’ fields was flooded and gave us home advantage.
